Latino USA

Recent Episodes

Rodeo—the Spanish word for "rounding up"—is a multi-million dollar sport in the U.S. but it's rooted in the riding, roping, and cattle ranching skills brought by Mexican cowboys to the Southwest hundreds of years ago. Today, most of the top professional rodeo athletes are white, but if you take a closer look, there are a large number of Mexican-American cowboys who live and breathe the sport. Latino USA visits the Tucson Rodeo, also known as La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros, and follows one family's dreams to turn their 8-year-old kid into a rodeo champion.

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It's easy to ignore things when they're not right in front of you. On this week's Latino USA, stories about people and events we often keep out-of-sight and out-of-mind.We hear from a group of elementary school children who fought to bring forgotten history back in their textbooks and learn about a mysterious fire in California that burnt down farmworker housing. Plus, author Shanthi Sekaran and Ecuadorian electronic musician Nicola Cruz.

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Humans are very adaptable creatures, and it doesn't take long for the previously unthinkable to become the "new normal". This week on Latino USA, stories about adapting to new realities. We hear from an immigrant mother preparing for the the possibility of deportation, learn about the history of the church sanctuary movement, and hear from an intersex woman fighting for visibility. Plus, the life and times of an anti-capitalist punk band.

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The Southwest was once a part of Mexico, but that doesn't mean that Mexicans have always felt welcome there. The region has a long and little-told history of segregation, discrimination, and state-sanctioned violence towards Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. Latino USA looks into that history, from the tale of outlaw Juan Cortina and the dark side of the Texas Rangers to stories of school segregation and lynchings.

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Often we think about big issues in terms of taking "sides." But what happens when you look closer and realize it's not so simple? We visit Ohio, a state where abortion access has been dramatically rolled back in recent years, and speak with Latinas there about how they feel on the issue. We hear the story of one of the DACA recipients detained since President Trump took office. And, we hear from a Latino business leader working with Trump.

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In a special collaboration with the Latino culture site Remezcla, Latino USA looks at the long-standing relationship between Hollywood, Latin America, and Latino filmmakers. We find out how Hollywood movies are adapted for Latin American audiences by learning about the dubbing of the most recent Star Wars film, Rogue One. Then, we go back to 1931 when a Hollywood studio experimented by making a Spanish-language version of Dracula at the same time they were filming the English-language version. And, we examine what it means to be an independent Latino filmmaker today.